


The Tie and the Eyeliner

by marius_pont_de_bercy



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: :)))))), Fluff, M/M, no beta we screw up like men, this is my way of making up for killing off Bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 17:37:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9618161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marius_pont_de_bercy/pseuds/marius_pont_de_bercy
Summary: "Need some help there, Stevie?""I, uh... I got the situation under control."Bucky laughed.  "I've heard you say that about a billion times, and I thinkmaybejust this once..."Steve Rogers can't tie a tie properly and Bucky Barnes has no idea how eyeliner works.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is part two of a birthday present for my friend, Greyson! 
> 
> I hope this makes up for the angst. I really do. :)

Steve Rogers scowled his reflection in the mirror. The day had started off so well, and now his tie was flat out refusing to cooperate and Bucky was waiting for him and that stupid strip of fabric was defying his every attempt to wrestle it into place. 

He let out a sigh, undoing his most recent attempt, and his scowl darkened. 

"C'mon, not today..." 

Footsteps in the hallway, and then the door creaked open and Bucky Barnes was grinning at him from the doorway. 

"Need some help there, Stevie?" 

"I, uh... I got the situation under control." 

Bucky laughed. "I've heard you say that about a billion times, and I think _maybe_ just this once..." 

"Yeah? Well, you've said that a billion times, too." Steve couldn't help but smile back. 

Bucky's smile was like that– contagious, all lopsided and confident and easy going. Steve had always been a bit envious of his confidence, although, if he was being honest with himself, he might just be a little more lovestruck than jealous these days. 

Not that he'd admit that. 

"Aw, come on, Rogers, let me help you." Bucky moved closer, and Steve Rogers was sure he felt his heart speed up. 

"If you ain't got anything better to do." Steve shrugged nonchalantly. 

Bucky laughed, and Steve suddenly realised that Bucky had leaned in close enough to kiss him, if he'd wanted to. 

Not that Bucky would want to kiss him, he reminded himself. 

"'Course not. Hold still, punk." 

"Sir, yes, sir!" Steve laughed, and Bucky paused for a moment, trying to fight back a smile. 

"You ain't taking this seriously, are you?" 

"Aw, you're not mad at me now, are you?" Steve grinned cheerfully up at Bucky, and Bucky finally gave up on hiding his smile. 

"Mad at you? Never." 

"You're a sap, Barnes, you know that?" 

"Maybe around _you,_ Stevie..." 

"See? Like I said." 

"Yeah, well... _I'm_ not the one blushing." 

"I am _not–_ " 

Steve shot a glance at the mirror, and sure enough, he'd gone slightly pink in the face. 

"Well, it's kinda cute." Bucky's smile had turned rather smug. 

"Who you calling _kinda cute,_ punk?" 

"You're right. No 'kinda' about it." 

"I got your 'cute' right here, Barnes." Steve tried his hardest to look tough. 

Bucky laughed, and then, to Steve's surprise, he leaned in, and lips grazed Steve's forehead, only for a fraction of a second, and Steve's heart almost stopped completely. 

Steve's eyes went wide, and he felt like he'd been rooted to the spot. 

"Now c'mon, Rogers, hold still." Bucky focused his attention back on the rebellious tie, and Steve managed a nod. 

"Right. Tie. Yeah." 

A moment later, Bucky took a step back, with a proud little smile on his face. "It's a masterpiece of fashion. Beau Brummell ain't got nothing on me." 

Steve turned to inspect Bucky's handiwork in the mirror. "Wonder why you ain't been discovered for your _fashion expertise_ yet." 

"Hey, don't mock me, punk. You look pretty _debonair_ , you know." 

Steve snorted. " _Debonair._ That's the most pretentious thing I've ever heard you say in your _life,_ Barnes." 

He turned around to face Bucky again, and he wound up closer than he'd expected, their foreheads almost touching. 

"You don't have to look so smug, you know," Steve said. 

"Yeah? You gonna do something about it?" 

"'Course I am." 

"I'd like to see you _try._ " 

Steve was quiet for a moment. 

When he next spoke, his voice was so quiet Bucky almost didn't hear him. 

"D'you... would you mind if I kissed you?" 

Bucky didn't answer at first, and Steve mentally kicked himself– way to go, Rogers, screwing up your relationship with your _only friend._ Well done... 

And then a tiny, crooked little smile tugged at the corner of Bucky's mouth. 

"Yeah– I mean, uh... no, I wouldn't mind. Uh..." Bucky was starting to blush, which Steve mentally tallied as a victory. "I mean... I think I'd like that." 

He looked like he was ready for the floor to open up under him. 

Steve had to get up on his tiptoes to kiss Bucky, but he managed it, and then Bucky's hand was on his waist to steady him and Bucky– _Bucky!_ – was kissing him back and Steve's heart felt like it was going crazy, trying to break out of his ribcage. 

And when he finally pulled away because he was short of breath, Bucky stood there, letting him catch his breath with a crooked little smile. 

Steve smiled back, fully aware that he was probably crimson in the face. 

"Watch it, punk, you're gonna mess up my tie." 

* * *

Bucky Barnes glared down at the pencil in his hand as if he could intimidate it into cooperating. The pencil, however, seemed to have different ideas. 

Bucky let out a sigh. There was black eyeliner smudged across his left eyelid already, rather messily, and the line he'd tried to draw across his right eyelid was horribly crooked and messy. Maybe he could get away with _aesthetically smudged_ eyeliner as the Winter Soldier, but somehow, it didn't quite work for a night out. 

He was _this close_ to giving up. 

There were footsteps in the hallway, and then the door creaked open and Steve Rogers was grinning at him from the doorway. 

"Need help?" 

"Not ready to admit defeat yet." 

"You sure?" Steve laughed, and Bucky couldn't help but smile. He hadn't realised how much he'd missed that laugh, not until he'd found Steve and started remembering again. 

"I'm..." Bucky shot the mirror a glare. "Nah, not really." 

"Want me to help?" 

"You don't have to sound that smug, punk." 

Steve only laughed again and shut the bathroom door behind him. Bucky managed to remove his attempts at eyeliner, and then he dropped the pencil into Steve's hand. 

"D'you even know what you're doing?" 

"Not really," Steve answered, wrinkling his nose. "I saw Natasha do it a couple times– guess I'm gonna wing it." 

There was a moment of silence. 

"If that was a pun, I swear to god..." 

Steve grinned at him. 

"You gotta hold still, you know." 

"Alright. Just... uh... try not to poke my eye out, okay?" 

Steve laughed, and the sound made Bucky's heart skip a beat. _God, he'd missed Steve and that stupid, smug grin of his..._

He took a step closer, so that their foreheads couldn't have been more than half a foot apart, and studied Bucky's face for a moment before he started. 

"Hold still, punk." 

Bucky made a face at him, but he rested his hand on the counter to try to steady himself a bit. 

It worked for a moment, but then the look of concentration on Steve's face made him laugh again. He was taking it so _seriously,_ his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth a tiny bit, the way it always did when he was trying his hardest to focus. 

"James Buchanan Barnes, I swear to god..." 

"Aw, you're not mad at me now, are you?" 

Steve was quiet for a moment, trying to fight back a smile. 

"Couldn't ever be _mad_ at you and you _know_ that." 

Bucky tried to ignore the way his heart seemed to speed up. "You're a sap, Rogers." 

"Maybe around _you,_ punk." 

He finished his work on one eye and then leaned back to study his handiwork before he started on the other. His forehead nearly touching Bucky's, and Bucky's gaze darted down, rebelliously, to Steve's lips for a moment. 

Steve laughed again, and Bucky looked up to meet his eyes. That was another thing he missed– Steve's eyes, and the way they shone when he smiled. Even though Steve had about five inches on him now, even though Steve wasn't quite the scrawny little kid from Brooklyn anymore, his eyes and the way he smiled hadn't changed since 1940. 

Steve set down the pencil triumphantly. "Done." 

Bucky turned to inspect Steve's work in the mirror. It was, he had to admit, pretty close to perfect. 

" _Don't really know what I'm doing–_ you're a liar, Rogers, you know that?" 

Steve laughed, and Bucky turned to face him again. 

"And you still look smug about it." 

"You gonna do something about it?" 

Bucky grinned. "'Course I am." 

And he tugged Steve closer by the front of his shirt, and then– _finally–_ he was kissing him again, and he could feel the smile in the shape of Steve's mouth, pressed against Bucky's, and his heart was going crazy, beating like it was about to burst out of his ribcage. 

Steve was still grinning when Bucky pulled away. 

"Watch it, punk, you're gonna mess up my makeup."


End file.
